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SQLite

A small, embeddable, in-process SQL database.

SQLite is a SQL database that lives entirely inside the application that uses it: there is no server process, and a database is a single ordinary file on disk. The library is small (a few hundred kilobytes), public domain (with no attribution required), and has an unusually thorough automated test suite — the TH3 test suite tests SQLite at branch coverage levels normally seen only in safety-critical software.

SQLite is one of the most widely deployed pieces of software in the world, embedded in operating systems (iOS, Android, macOS, Windows), web browsers (every major browser uses SQLite internally), mobile apps, aircraft systems (Airbus uses it for A350 flight software), and much more. The Long Term Support commitment promises maintenance through at least 2050, which is unusual in software.

D. Richard Hipp started SQLite in 2000 while working on a Navy guided-missile destroyer — needing a small embeddable database that did not require a separate server process. Hwaci (Hipp, Wyrick & Company) develops SQLite commercially with sponsorships from Mozilla, Adobe, and Bloomberg, while the software itself remains in the public domain. SQLite is the default database for many small applications, the local cache for many large ones, and a common choice for application configuration.

Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install sqlite3
Fedora/RHEL:   sudo dnf install sqlite
Arch:          sudo pacman -S sqlite
macOS:         preinstalled (or brew install sqlite for the latest)